He may have missed the start of the season due to injury, but since his return Danilo Petrucci (Octo Pramac Yakhnich) has produced consistently strong results. He has qualified inside the top ten at all three rounds he has participated in and thanks to a determined ride in Barcelona he has also taken three top ten finishes. Crossing the line in ninth was no easy task for Petrucci who experienced significant tyre drop off. The Italian had focused on going steady at the start of the race to save his tyres, but with just five laps to go they suddenly dropped off. Until this point Petrucci had been challenging Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team), but the rider from Terni was forced to let his factory counterpart escape.
"I was calm throughout the race to preserve the rear tyre and I thought I could play with him for seventh"Monday after the Gran Premi Monster Energy de Catalunya gave Petrucci a day to experiment with his GP15 and work on finding the cause of his tyre woes on Sunday. Petrucci ended the day in 15th with a best time of 1’46.515 coming on his 26th lap of 67. As the paddock prepares to head to the Motul TT Assen, Petrucci holds 15th in the overall championship standings. Perhaps the most impressive aspect of Petrucci’s position is he has eight more points than his teammate Scott Redding (Octo Pramac Yakhnich), despite having only run in three races.
Danilo Petrucci: “It was a good race until five laps from the chequered flag when I managed to pass Dovizioso. I was calm throughout the race to preserve the rear tyre and I thought I could play with him for seventh. Then I felt that the rubber was over, almost suddenly, and it was very risky. I do not know what the problem was, maybe it depends on our set up as the tyre that we used was the same as Valentino, Marquez and Pedrosa. However, I want to thank the team for the great job they have done: we have proven to be competitive in any circuit. I would have liked to be the best Ducati.”